Maths

Intent

Mathematics is an essential life skill and a key part of our broad and balanced curriculum at Ladysmith Infants. We aim to develop children’s enjoyment of maths and foster the confidence and enthusiasm they need to use mathematics successfully in their everyday lives.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to support children in developing fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills alongside a secure understanding of key concepts. From the Early Years onwards, children are supported to make connections between mathematical ideas and the world around them. We ensure that children build strong foundations in number, develop accurate use of mathematical vocabulary and learn to explain and justify their thinking. Above all, we want every child to see themselves as a capable mathematician who can persevere and succeed.

What do maths lessons look like at Ladysmith Infants?

In EYFS, maths is taught through a combination of adult-led sessions and carefully planned play-based provision. Children develop early number sense, explore patterns, shape and measure, and learn through practical experiences, stories and songs. This early approach builds confidence and curiosity, providing a strong foundation for future learning.

In KS1, lessons follow a clear and structured sequence, using high-quality schemes such as White Rose to ensure progression. Lessons begin with a short retrieval activity to revisit prior learning and develop fluency. New learning is introduced in small, manageable steps with clear modelling and the use of practical resources and visual representations such as counters, diennes and number lines.

At each stage of our maths curriculum, children use manipulatives like diennes and place value counters to gain a deep understanding of numbers, mathematical operations and processes. In each phase, teachers use carefully-selected visual representations (models and images) to ensure children develop deep and flexible conceptual understanding.

We place a high emphasis on high-quality talk and articulation in our maths curriculum. Precise mathematical vocabulary is taught explicitly in line with definitions provided in the NCETM glossary and children are scaffolded to think and reason using high-quality sentence stems.

Lesson design in maths aligns with Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction. Following high-quality modelling and explanation, children engage with learning tasks with appropriate levels of scaffolding which are faded over time. Teachers use ongoing assessment for learning to respond to misconceptions and errors and to ensure children obtain a high success rate in independent learning before exploring new challenges.

Fluency

Our curriculum design also ensures children develop fluency and automaticity in important number facts. We know that rapid recall of things like number bonds, doubles and times tables empowers children to calculate accurately and efficiently and to solve a rich range of problems. To support the secure development of fluency, we use a structured and systematic programme based on Number Sense Maths. This approach focuses on developing fluency in addition and subtraction facts through carefully sequenced teaching, ensuring children build a deep understanding of number and number relationships. The programme uses highly visual representations, practical activities and explicit strategies to help children make connections and 'use what they know to work out what they don’t know.' numbersensemaths.com

Regular practice and targeted support ensure that all children develop confidence, accuracy and automatic recall of key number facts, providing a strong foundation for all areas of mathematics.

Reasoning

Alongside learning key number facts, children learn to reason about their maths. This involves partner talk and having to justify answers using mathematical vocabulary. Being able to say why an answer or method is correct or incorrect shows mastery of an area of maths. It also enables children to better notice and self-correct when they are not on track. Reasoning also involves pattern spotting and looking for rules and connections. Children are encouraged to look for patterns and links, find mistakes, make generalisations and solve questions in more than one way. Questions and conjectures are celebrated and explored together to work towards a shared understanding.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is an element in all units of maths. Children are given opportunities to apply calculation strategies to real-life problems. Discussion is a key element of problem solving; tackling a problem in different ways is celebrated. Children learn to think creatively and know that there is no ‘one correct way’ to represent or solve a problem. As mathematicians they must draw on all of their knowledge and skills to decide how best to get started and what to do if their first try does not work. Through problem solving children therefore develop flexible thinking and resilience: the problems are not supposed to feel easy to solve but they certainly feel satisfying when a solution is finally reached.

Children then practise new skills with support before applying their learning independently. Throughout lessons, there is a strong emphasis on mathematical talk, with children encouraged to explain their thinking, use precise vocabulary and reason about their answers. Opportunities for problem solving are embedded in all units, allowing children to apply their knowledge in a variety of contexts.

How we ensure every child succeeds?

We are committed to ensuring that all children can succeed in mathematics. Learning is adapted to meet the needs of all pupils, with a strong focus on inclusive teaching and responsive assessment. Teachers carefully monitor understanding throughout lessons and provide additional support, scaffolding or challenge as needed, ensuring that no child is left behind.

Retention

Opportunities to retrieve and review previous steps of learning is built into our curriculum design. Daily review tasks assess what has stuck in children’s long-term memories and expose what may require additional explanation or practice. All new learning is explicitly linked to previous steps – aided by the clarity in the small-steps model – so that children make meaningful connections and develop secure schema.

Assessment and Responsive Teaching

Assessment is woven into maths lessons so that teachers have a clear understanding of what has been mastered and each child’s next steps. Planning is responsive, with teachers adapting teaching on a daily, weekly and termly basis to address gaps in learning. Alongside ongoing formative assessment, termly summative assessments inform planning and enable leaders to identify trends and respond effectively.

Practical resources, visual representations and structured support help children build secure understanding, while opportunities to deepen thinking ensure all learners are appropriately challenged. Through regular assessment and timely intervention, gaps are quickly addressed. This responsive approach supports all children to develop confidence, fluency and independence, ensuring they leave Ladysmith Infants with strong foundations in mathematics.